Modern network environments generally have a network device at an end user's location to allow the proper reception and transmission of information. For example, in cable communications network environments, end users generally utilize a modem, such as a cable modem, to receive and transmit information through the network. Depending on the size, scope and configuration of the network, other devices such as DSL (Digital Subscription Line) modems and/or an Optical Network Terminal (ONT) unit may be employed. As those skilled in the art will appreciate, each type of network may require a different type of network device and/or may mix and match network devices depending on the network configuration. As used herein, any such network devices are generally referred to as a modem.
The network devices often are configured before they will operate properly for the reception and transmission of information. The configuration may be done manually at the local site, but is more often done in one or more centralized locations. Where one or more centralized locations are utilized, it is often desirable to transmit one or more configuration files to the network device. Often, however, there may be several different network devices being utilized in the network environment. For example, a cable communications network may have several different types of cable modems which may themselves be configured in different ways. Additionally, the network may have other network devices such as DSL modems or optical network terminals. The use of numerous different types of network devices often requires information providers to configure and maintain each of these different types of modems using different configuration files.
Properly generating, testing, storing, and distributing these configuration files often takes a great deal of time, expertise, and labor. Consequently, some content providers have been forced to implement very basic configuration files, however, the service provider may have very little control over the network devices.
Using additional parameters increases the quantity of configuration files needed to be created exponentially. Furthermore, in complex networks it is often a concern whether each distribution point for such configuration files have the latest version of the files. Thus, novel systems and methods for improving the control over network and/or improving the efficiency of managing the network devices would be beneficial to the art.